


take me away, sunray

by xylomylo



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 23:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15873837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xylomylo/pseuds/xylomylo
Summary: "you know i can't date students, right?" she smiles. apologetic, maybe. the most apologetic one, ever, and readies herself for the crashing disappointment in sana's eyes - but it never comes. sana only nods."of course. all i have to do is wait out this semester, right?"





	take me away, sunray

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonrise31](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonrise31/gifts).



> happy really really belated birthday caroline!!! i'm sorry this took forever. i hope this makes u miss your ta-ing life and may any possible future ta-ing gigs be as glamourous as this one. 
> 
> title from phum viphurit's lover boy, bc it's been stuck in my head all day.

 

the room is silent, save for the ticking of the wall clock. sana eyes the minute hand closely. reminds herself not to blink, because a hundred percent accuracy is crucial, and the fate of her upcoming semester is about to be determined. just one small millimeter to the right and it'll be nine am -

 

"now!" momo yells, and they both spring into action. fingers flying across their keyboards, scrambling to login into the school's online system. the semestral fight for their modules has begun, and sana can only pray that everything goes according to plan. because their dumbass of a school has decided to make students register on a fastest-fingers basis, and while some say that it's fair, what it really means is that a lot of it is based on luck. as well as a stable internet connection. and lady luck has rarely been on sana's side. 

 

well, at least not today. because sana's laptop decides to give her the blue screen of death, and fuck, really.

 

"oh my god," she exhales. screams in frustration before dropping it on the ground unceremoniously. then races to login into the system from her phone. which, has only three percent battery because she'd forgotten to charge it the night before. sana glances at momo, who's already furiously clicking away at her screen - and hopes that she isn't too late. popular modules get filled in within the first ten minutes, and she'd wanted to take that module on darwin's evolution so badly. the final was all mcqs, and according to nayeon had been a 'piece of cake'. 

 

("it's an easy a, sana." nayeon dumps the stack of notes on her table. "if you want to save your gpa, you need it. one lecture per week. no tutorials, no midterms."

 

sana eyes her retreating figure skeptically, but nayeon has no reason to lie, and after reading a couple of student feedbacks, decides that this is it.)

 

but by the time she gets in, and gets all her major required modules settled, darwin is long filled and sana is left with a gaping hole in her timetable. the popular courses are already filled, and there is nothing she can do about it, so she flops back down onto her bed and turns to momo.

 

"did you get everything you wanted?" 

 

"yeah," momo grins, glasses askew. "thank god i got physio and sport psych. apparently the professors for this semester are much more lenient." then notices sana's laptop open on the floor, and raises her eyebrows silently.

 

sana closes her eyes. breathes in the tranquility of the early morning, which she only gets to experience because of morning classes, or in this case - module registration. the hall is relatively quiet, but she knows better; students everywhere are either celebrating their fantastic timetable, or trying not to panic like her, because she's still a module short. 

 

"i didn't get darwin," she mumbles. "now i've to either register for something that fills darwin's slot perfectly, or take an extra module next semester." she now has an unnecessary four hour break on tuesdays and thursdays, and might not even get a free day. also, her laptop is dead, and there are a million other things she should be worrying about, but her duvet is way too comfortable and it's still early.

 

then momo starts clacking away at her laptop, and sana's about to fall back asleep, because there's no way she's officially getting up this early, when -

 

"what do you think of modern philosophy?"

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

junior year is a buzz. the semester has gotten off to a great start, because nayeon has broken her own record of throwing three parties in three days. in the first week. living on the same floor as nayeon is probably the greatest thing to ever happen to her on campus, and sana is loving every second of it. 

 

hangovers aside, nayeon throws the best parties only because the girl knows people from all over. free alcohol, weed, and even a karaoke machine - being friends with nayeon means sana gets to be on the receiving end of the other girl's bottomless trust fund, and sana isn't complaining. 

 

like now. like how she has ten shots of tequila lined up in front of her, and a smirking freshman at the end of it. a really pretty girl, who majors in ballet. a friend of nayeon's, or something. she doesn't exactly remember what led to this, but all she knows is that she has to down all of it faster than momo does, and then she would get to kiss the girl. probably nayeon's idea, because ballet girl was all for it, and sana laughs. feels the thudding bass resonating in her blood. she's not really interested, but the lust in momo's eyes was way too telling and it was an opportunity too good to pass up. jealous momo was a sight to behold. 

 

the whistle blows. the tequila burns. momo's the better drinker, and when sana finally gets to the last shot momo already has a mouthful of ballet girl's tongue. everyone whoops, including sana, but the floor starts moving of its own accord and her legs give out so she collapses into the couch. 

 

"you good?" nayeon yells over the music. some spotify playlist sana's sure chaeyoung created, because it's nothing on the radio stations today. the bass pounds into her head, and sana breathes in slowly. 

 

"yeah," she shouts, voice cracking. shakes her head a little to clear out the fuzziness. either summer break's made her a weak little shit, or nayeon must have added a little something extra. and given the smug smile on the other girl's face, sana just hopes she doesn't hurl.

 

"good, right?" nayeon smiles, eyes glossy. "new stuff. kicks in real fast." pats sana on the back, and sana reminds herself that there's only one nayeon, despite what she sees. suddenly everything is spinning, and she's floating. 

 

she laughs. everything seems funny. then tries to focus on what nayeon says next. something about chaeyoung and modern philosophy? but it doesn't register. all she can see is nayeon clapping her hands. in slow motion. and it's so, so loud. her ears are ringing. sana feels her throat closing up, and the one percent of her that hasn't given in to the chemicals in her body knows she has to get out of there. needs to. 

 

so she stumbles out. pushes her way through the crowd, and squints through the darkness. the music is no longer assaulting her ears, and she breathes a little easier. the hallway light is off, as part of the campus's efforts to 'go green', and sana wants to ask if it's halloween yet. she trudges through the darkness. there's only one light at the end of the hallway, that she needs to get to - the bathrooms. the light at the end of the tunnel. how poetic. maybe she should have majored in literature.

 

but as luck would have it, she trips on her way in. or not. her foot isn't on solid ground anymore. because suddenly she's soaring. flying. maybe it's her turn to sing with vanessa hudgens, or something. the hall bathroom has never looked so beautiful. clean, and inviting. and maybe she lands on some clouds, because it's so soft. maybe this is the gates of heaven, where only goddesses reside in. goddesses wearing glasses. and a really, really low cut shirt -

 

"hey!" there's a hand on her face. sana blinks, and wow. glasses goddess is right in her face, and maybe if she leans in a little more she'll finally get to kiss a goddess. kissing a really, really pretty goddess was definitely at the top of her bucket list, and fifteen year old sana could only dream -

 

"hey. hey! are you okay?" glasses goddess is talking. to her. her face feels like it's being thrown around, and it takes a few good slaps for sana to realise that yes, glasses goddess is giving her head a few good shakes. albeit vigorously. through the fuzz she sees glassess goddess frown, and sana thinks it isn't a good look on her. because goddesses aren't supposed to frown. and it was very, very possible that all of her weight is on glasses goddess herself. oh no.

 

then the floor rises up to meet her, and suddenly her butt is on the ground. her tongue is heavy in her mouth, but she manages a laugh, and glasses goddess tuts. "how high are you?" 

 

"i don't know," sana smiles, dreamily. "i'm talking to a goddess, what'd you think?" 

 

if she was sober, she would have whistled. she's always wanted to meet high sana, who according to nayeon, is a hundred times greasier. so she settles for an easy smile. but then she watches glasses goddess blink, and her face explodes into a smile as bright as a thousand suns.

 

"okay," glasses goddess laughs, teeth full on display. sana wants to touch them, because they look really tiny and cute. like her little cousin's. maybe she does touch them, because glasses goddess has both of her hands in one of her own and pins it to her side. or maybe the goddess just wants to hold her hand. score.

 

"where's your room?" glasses goddess asks. her long brown hair looks so soft under the little lighting they have, and sana wants to run her fingers through it. but her hands are still being held captive by the goddess, and she can only nod towards the end of the hallway. her eyelids suddenly weigh a ton, and she knows she might not be able to stand up because the hallway starts spinning again, and there may or may not be a butterfly on her nose. 

 

she giggles. "you wanna come to my room?" then forces her eyes open and gives glasses goddess her best googly eyes. "only pretty girls are invited." sana tries to wink, but she feels the impending crash - how she slowly gives in to the pull of gravity, and how she slurs all her words. she just hopes the goddess will understand. and not send her to hell to be punished. or banish her to the depths of tartarus.

 

but then she's hauled up, and the hallway spirals into a blur, and the last thing sana remembers is the feeling of glasses goddess's arm around her waist before everything goes black.

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

jihyo sighs. rubs her eyes for the umpteenth time that night, because the words on the paper are literally. floating. it doesn't help that it's written in an obnoxious light orange ink, and what kind of idiot junior writes their essays in orange ink? she squints at the name on the front page - minatozaki sana. a japanese student, maybe. doesn't make for a good excuse either way.

 

"you're still here?"

 

she looks up at the offending intruder. then rubs her eyes again to confirm that yes, it's jeongyeon. in the flesh. standing right in front of her desk, with a disapproving look on her face. trying to grade a hundred essays in a night does that to you, jihyo thinks. makes you lose a bit of your sanity, because all she can think about is the simulation argument. and how the human population is perpetually moving towards a posthuman civilisation. 

 

"yeah," she sighs. puts her pen down, and stands up to stretch. "didn't you leave for the night?" the way her back pops is strangely satisfying.

 

jeongyeon holds up her keys, and jihyo laughs. typical jeongyeon. forgetting her things. there was the time where the other girl had locked herself out of the office, together with all her stuff and couldn't go back - so she'd knocked on jihyo's room door and begged to stay the night. staying on campus has its benefits, but as a post-grad student it's more of a burden. because as much as it is an education, it's also a reminder of how it's pretty much her entire life right now. hours and hours of research, and writing. fulfilling teaching assistant obligations. overseeing lectures. it's hard not to get caught up in it, but jihyo can't really be bothered to find her own apartment. plus, she's on scholarship, so who's she to say no to free lodging?

 

"you're still grading for professor park?" jeongyeon questions. "didn't you say you were going to finish it yesterday?" then reaches out to yank jihyo's glasses down, because she's an asshole. jihyo only half-glares, because she knows jeongyeon never means any harm. never.

 

"i was," she says. "until some girl passed out on me in the hallway. she was high as fuck, man. did we even party that much as undergrads?" she sits back down. "living in an undergraduate hall makes me feel old, jeong."  

 

jeongyeon sighs. shakes her head and smiles, because that's life. it's the path they've chosen to walk. no road is ever going to be smooth, but sometimes the going gets a little tough and she understands. "maybe you're just lonely." then winks. "the girl yesterday. what happened?" 

 

"she called me a goddess." jihyo deadpans. watches as jeongyeon's face explodes into laughter. the one where her eyes curve and her cheekbones threaten to cut anything that comes near it. the one that was her favourite. if it was three years ago she would have probably melted into a puddle of goo, but they've grown so much individually and jihyo doesn't regret anything. jeongyeon is still one of the most important people in her lives, and nothing has changed. like how her laughter makes the stress in jihyo's shoulders seep out effortlessly. 

 

jeongyeon folds over in laughter. jihyo wants to hit her with anything. something. maybe her pen. but she ends up laughing, and they end up reminiscing their undergraduate days - the papers are forgotten. technically she has two more days, anyway. 

 

"it's friday, you moron. you have the weekend to finish!"

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

being a junior doesn't exactly entail tardiness. especially if you're one minatozaki sana, who still manages to get lost on campus. it doesn't help that professor park changes the venue of his weekly lecture as and when he likes, leaving sana to chase the wind. she doesn't know how chaeyoung does it. 

 

so when she finally bursts through the doors of the lecture theatre and finds a seat next to chaeyoung, chaeyoung's giving her the stink eye. class is already in session, and sana pouts. because chaeyoung is a cunt for immanuel kant, as nayeon always says. her passion for philosophy is something sana will never understand, and she tries to keep her snickering to herself when she sees kant's face all over today's lecture notes.

 

modern philosophy is a burden. the amount of pre-lecture readings alone can probably bury someone alive, and its so, so dry. like, space as a human construct? what bullshit. that doesn't even make any sense. but she has to pass this damn module as part of the college's graduation requirements to clear 'modules outside of your major' - and so she listens. 

 

but then her daydreaming ass takes five whole minutes to realise that it wasn't professor park speaking, and sana cranes her neck. tries to get a better look at the woman going on about a priori and a posteriori knowledge. the glasses on her face are strangely familiar, and wow. that lecturer could definitely pass off as a dj. she's talking with so much charisma and maybe, just maybe - sana thinks about switching majors. yet again.

 

"who's she?" she whispers, hitting chaeyoung softly. "she's hot, even if i can't make out her face." 

 

chaeyoung snorts. "park jihyo. professor park's teaching assistant." sana watches as she scribbles down something jihyo said. "she's covering for his lectures for a few weeks." 

 

sana hums in acknowledgement. someone from behind shushes them, and chaeyoung turns around to give them the finger. it's probably why her middle finger is so straight. and long, despite her small size. what an irony. jihyo's voice is enough to suck sana into something of a time warp, into the world of the copernican revolution and before she knows it it's over. students are filing out, some of them moving towards the front of the hall -

 

"wake up," chaeyoung snaps. "we gotta go collect our essays." then nods to the front, and sana puts two and two together. it's week three, and they've already had an essay due. one which sana obviously only started two days before, and only completed after begging chaeyoung for help. art modules always have a heavy workload throughout the semester, which is why she'd never take any of them voluntarily, but here she is. learning about things she'd probably never ever use in her life.

 

then jihyo's face comes into view, and sana's jaw drops. because there is no way someone of the human race can look that good in glasses, and that summer tan of hers is making her white blouse glow in the fucking lecture theatre. the rumours turn out to be very, very true - that the arts lecturers are way hotter than the science ones. 

 

it's probably why chaeyoung majored in philosophy. sana wants to laugh. but then it's her turn to get her essay back, and jihyo looks her directly in the eyes and maybe -

 

"you." jihyo has a finger pointing straight at her. her eyes are dark and sticky tar sana can't look away from, and she gulps. did she do something again? it's one thing to have a reputation, and one thing to give a bad impression on the first meeting with this... teaching assistant. but then jihyo smiles and sana's heart jumpstarts. "don't i deserve a thank you?" 

 

if sana's brain was on pause before, it's probably dead now. maybe she doesn't understand english all of a sudden, because what on earth was jihyo talking about? it doesn't help that jihyo is looking at sana like she's waiting, for something, anything -

 

"oh. you don't remember, do you?" jihyo's face falls, and sana reminds herself to respond. shakes her head. her hands are on autopilot, searching for her essay because she doesn't know what else to do. jihyo's talking like they've met before, but sana's pretty sure she'll remember any encounter with someone who looks like a goddess -

 

oh. glasses goddess...?

 

dear god. by this point her vocal chords have ceased to function, because flashbacks of that night at nayeon's party are starting to flood her pea brain. sana finds her essay just in time, and yanks it out of the stack, only to be stopped by jihyo herself.

 

" _you're_  minatozaki sana?" jihyo laughs. then shakes her head and starts chuckling to herself. sana's not sure what to make of it. but before she can try to open her mouth someone's asking jihyo about her grading criteria, and sana feels herself being yanked away by chaeyoung. 

 

"you know her?" chaeyoung narrows her eyes. "i thought you didn't."

 

"... i just remembered that i do." sana wants to crawl into a hole and die. she's reminded again how life works in the weirdest of ways. then proceeds to tell chaeyoung all about her embarrassing escapade that has chaeyoung in a laughing fit all the way back to their residential hall. 

 

it's fate. or just bad karma.

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

"what do you mean she lives here?" nayeon is looking at her like she's grown another head, and sana doesn't appreciate it. at all. "this is an undergraduate hall. don't be stupid, sana." then returns her attention to her phone.

 

okay. she reminds herself to take a deep breath. it doesn't calm her frantic heart the slightest bit, and the only reason she's here is because nayeon  _knows_  everyone. it's the fastest way to find out, and there is nothing she wants more than to find jihyo and apologise. for being a fucking mess that night. the memories are so cringe-worthy sana wonders when she'll ever forget them completely. 

 

"but i saw her! here, during the night of your party," sana almost screams. kicks nayeon's backpack in frustration, and a second later gets pelted by a stuffed bunny. 

 

"leave my bag alone," nayeon's beside her all of a sudden, and sana raises up her hands in defeat. standing in nayeon's warpath would only mean death of some sort. or worse. then looks at nayeon properly for the first time that night through her panic haze, and what on earth was the other girl wearing?

 

nayeon laughs. "this?" stretches out the green pajama top for sana to see. "vintage pajamas from chaeng." then twirls around the room and does an impromptu fashion show and sana doesn't have the heart to tell her its um, really ugly. nayeon's either blind or just really, really whipped, but it makes the anxiety dissipate and her thoughts are finally coherent enough to make sense, and the exhaustion slams into sana like a brick wall. 

 

"look," nayeon begins. "i don't know who this jihyo person is, but i'll ask around, alright?" pats sana's head. "chaeyoung tells me she's really hot though. why do you always embarrass yourself in front of hot girls?" 

 

sana curses and nayeon laughs, because it's been three years and nothing has changed. sana is still the timid meek freshman who has a thing for older women, and nayeon's still... nayeon.

 

"if you ever get together with jihyo, you owe me." she smirks. "big time. you're doing my laundry for the next month."

 

sana rolls her eyes. 

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

sana is a double espresso straight to her veins, jihyo decides, ten minutes after the other girl practically barrels her way into her room. after a particularly awkward conversation (awkward on sana's part, hilarious on jihyo's) they'd fallen into good conversation, and jihyo thinks she hasn't stopped laughing. she's forgotten all about the lecture she has to prepare for, and her half-done thesis, and -

 

"it's true then," sana giggles into her hand, and jihyo tilts her head. questioningly. "the arts professors are way hotter than the science ones," she wags her eyebrows just so. "i mean, you don't see teaching assistants like yourself in stats, at all."

 

jihyo wants to laugh. this isn't the first time she's being hit on by one of her students, and it's cute. sana is really, really pretty, and cute, and it's been awhile since she'd had such good conversation with someone outside her social circle. really. she's flattered. but dating students is a definite no, as emphasized repeatedly by the dean's office, and her career is at stake. 

 

"you know i can't date students, right?" she smiles. apologetic, maybe. the most apologetic one, ever, and readies herself for the crashing disappointment in sana's eyes - but it never comes. sana only nods. 

 

"of course. all i have to do is wait out this semester, right?" 

 

then jihyo blinks, and wow. of all the students she's had to put down nicely, none of them had the balls to say that. a loophole she's embarrassed to admit that she'd never thought of, and what the hell. 

 

"technically, yes." she says slowly. looks at the smug smile on sana's face. it's sending her brain into overdrive, because  _are kids these days so forward?_  and she can't say she's not... interested either, because that'd be lying, and as kant says, the 'maxim of thy will' should always 'hold good as a principle of universal legislation' - if it were okay to lie, then the world would become a screwed up mess.

 

"okay," sana shuffles forward. "but we're friends," then crinkles her nose adorably and jihyo feels herself melting into a puddle of goo (it's been awhile). how professional. 

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

thirty seconds in the lecture hall is more than enough for chaeyoung to make her own observation(s) - that something,  _something_  is up with sana. 

 

one: sana is never early for lecture. excluding tests, because that's something even the one percentile of students wouldn't be late for. voluntarily, of course. 

 

two: sana never, ever sits in the first row. only the overachieving students do that and even someone as passionate as herself about philosophy doesn't. because she hates answering questions, and it's less stressful at the back. 

 

so when she sees sana seated right in the middle of the first row, chaeyoung only sighs. walks over and opens her laptop silently. sana is her usual giggly self, glued to her phone while the majority of students file in, and when sana winks in return to her questioning look, chaeyoung regrets not bringing popcorn. or something to munch on.

 

the lecture starts punctually, and jihyo's about ten minutes into kant's critique of reason, when the lecture doors burst open. sitting at the first row gives chaeyoung a really good view of everything - the lecturer, the screen, and the doors. she's about to dismiss it as another late student, but then a huge blob of red comes into her peripheral vision, and what the hell?

 

the lecture theatre falls silent. jihyo stops talking mid-sentence, because everyone's eyes are on the boy (mark??? what the fuck is going on) carrying a bouquet of roses large enough to cover his entire face. he hands it to jihyo wordlessly before walking out, and chaeyoung turns to look at sana fast enough and catches the wink sana sends to mark. holy shit.

 

where was her popcorn? chaeyoung is unbelieving. fires off a series of texts ranging from  _O M GGG_  to variations of  _sana just gave jihyo a huge bouquet of roses dURING LECTURE!!!??_  to nayeon, because she is still shook. 

 

jihyo is staring at the bouquet of roses in her hands. chaeyoung spies a card attached to the side, and soon enough jihyo rips it off. stares at the card like it's written in greek, and then  _looks_  up at sana while blushing - chaeyoung is left to wonder what she did in her previous life to witness such drama up close. 

 

then someone wolf whistles, and some of the students cheer. jihyo clears her throat. her expression returns to something of vague seriousness, and chaeyoung silently applauds her professionalism. the bouquet is left at the corner of the table, untouched, but the view is evidently distracting because jihyo's eyes keep darting back to it every now and then, and sana is still smirking at jihyo. 

 

where was her popcorn? chaeyoung sighs. her phone vibrates with nayeon's reply, and it's enough to make her snort out loud. in class. 

 

_was it a hundred red roses??? she USED MY FUCKING CARD THAT BITCH_

 

 

 

/ 

 

 

 

"you can't do things like that, sana." jihyo throws her hands up. "what if professor park finds out? i haven't even completed my thesis!" then continues her nervous pacing, and sana thinks she might be starting to get a little dizzy from watching.

 

they're in jihyo's office, after lecture, because jihyo had been  _very_ insistent on sana coming to her office hours after the lecture to 'discuss' her essay. chaeyoung had conveniently left for her next class - and sana's always glad to have some alone time with jihyo. always.

 

"relax." sana says. slowly. "you're not going to be fired." she wants to grab jihyo's arm, but doesn't want to make the other girl more panicky than she already is. "the whole world thinks that mark gave it to you, not me," she shrugs. then giggles, because it's like they're sneaking around. or something. how exciting. 

 

jihyo stops. sana thinks she sees the gears in jihyo's head turning, before the other girl collapses into her chair with an exaggerated sigh. watches as her tan shoulders loses some of it's earlier tension, because sana  _knows_ she's right. mark isn't a student of jihyo's, so technically they weren't breaking any rules, and jihyo's future career is... safe. for now.

 

then jihyo's words echo in her head, and -

 

wait. " 'find out?' ", sana questions. "you're acknowledging that we're a thing?" then smiles, teeth and all. starts jumping around like an excited puppy, and jihyo is powerless to the upward tug of her own lips.

 

"i never said that," she teases. breathes in the fragrance of the roses on the table. "but seriously. no more, okay?"

 

sana winks, just as the door to jihyo's office is opened. by professor park.

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

momo doesn't know if she should be worried. sana's been lying on her bed, giggling to herself for the past hour. the last time this happened, they were high as heck - but ever since nayeon's party, the other girl had sworn off weed. and while sana's word might not be worth a lot, momo thinks it's worth the benefit of the doubt. maybe. plus, it's getting kind of annoying. she has a report to finish, and sana is  _not_ helping.

 

"what's up with you?" momo swivels around in her chair. "got laid or something?"

 

sana giggles again. "oh, not yet." momo watches her sit up. welcomes the relief when she sees that sana's pupils are decent sized. they've been really busy with school and haven't had time to talk lately, so this should be interesting. besides, she has something to tell sana, too. but there's a ninety percent chance sana already knows, because of nayeon, and mina tells nayeon everything.

 

"nothing much. just me counting down to the end of this semester, you know. so i can date jihyo officially."

 

momo whistles. "the teaching assistant you're hitting on? the one you met at nayeon's party?" 

 

sana nods. "she's so hot." then sighs. shows her a photo, and momo's taken aback because wow, this girl is hot. maybe she stares for a little too long, because sana flicks her on the forehead and yells  _i'm telling mina,_ and momo instinctively tackles her onto the floor, into the pile of smelly socks they keep at the corner (because they can't be bothered to do laundry. yet.) 

 

in the middle of a tickle war in dirty laundry and screaming murder, momo knows with certainty that sana's smile is geniune, unconditional support - and the twinkle in her eyes tells her that sana knows  _everything,_ and that's all that she needs. maybe they don't have to say it out loud, after all. cheese was never their thing, anyway. 

 

"but isn't it against the rules? dating a lecturer of sorts?" momo says, after catching her breath. throws one last stray sock back into the pile, because wearing mismatched socks is her greatest pet peeve. it's like making socks cheat on each other. how cruel is that?

 

"technically, but all i have to do is ask her out at the end of the semester." sana climbs back onto her bed. "easy."

 

momo's about to disagree, because she isn't that much of an optimist. but then someone's knocking on their door with an urgency neither of them get so often, and sana's running to get it. they don't usually lock the doors before midnight, and nayeon usually just barges in, so it had to be someone else -

 

"sana! hi. um, i know it's really late and all," the girl rushes out. the rest of her words don't register with momo, because she's speaking so quickly. like a machine gun going off. and also, she's really pretty, and maybe momo gets a little distracted by the low-cut shirt she's wearing. then the girl smiles, showing all her teeth. momo thinks it makes her look a little deranged. together with her crazed eyes. 

 

the photo on sana's phone is still open, and momo gives it another glance. the resemblance is striking - and the belated realisation that  _that's_ jihyo causes her to lose a chunk of conversation worth eavesdropping on, because sana is suddenly grabbing her newly repaired laptop and sprinting out of the room with a  _be back soon_ yelled over her shoulder. 

 

huh.

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

the twenty-four hour printing station is unsurprisingly bursting with life at midnight. for the last minute procrastinators, it's a life saver, and for jihyo, it's proof of how she's incapable of not messing up.  

 

"sorry," jihyo says sheepishly, scratching her neck. she'd stayed up all night yesterday working on her thesis, and was going to stay up tonight grading professor park's class assignments - but caffeine does not equal sleep, and that's a mistake she should really start learning from.

 

in her caffeine powered haze, she'd accidentally knocked over her sixth cup of coffee that day. spilt it all over sana's essay, and accidentally tore it while trying to dry it off. if not for professor park's old-fashioned insistence of students submitting their essays in hard copies, she could have easily printed another one. but nope, and here she is - asking sana to print it. again. thank god the girl had it saved, or jihyo's sure she might be barred from being a teaching assistant. forever.

 

"no worries," sana hands over the reprinted essay. jihyo wonders how anyone could handle a crisis with so much grace. not a single complaint, not a single frown marring her face. or maybe it's just because sana doesn't have a choice, because her essay needs to be graded either way. the self-doubt squeezes the confidence out of jihyo, and maybe her mother was right. maybe she wasn't cut out for post-graduate studies. maybe she was meant to stay at home, and take care of her siblings -

 

"hey." there's a hand on her shoulder. "it's okay. we mess up sometimes." sana's looking at her all soft and velvet. it's the antidote to the poison threatening to dissolve her entire being. slices through the insecurities echoing around her head, and jihyo grabs sana's hand. it's low, even for herself - seeking comfort in someone else, but desperate times call for desperate measures and jihyo just wants to be happy. to forget. no longer wants to wait for the guillotine to drop. sana laces their fingers together, and maybe jihyo starts her own countdown to the end of the semester. 

 

the walk back to their residental hall is quiet. the stars in the night sky are beautiful, jihyo thinks. but nothing can compare to those handpicked by god himself to put in sana's eyes. chiseled perfectly, to every corner. stars that form constellations pointing towards her heart. for a wanderer like herself to find her way back. in a parallel universe she might have kissed sana right there and then, with the silence of the night stripping away everything else but her emotions - but she doesn't. because it isn't time. yet. 

 

she lets sana tuck her into bed. wants to ask her to stay the night, because waking up alone is something she's starting to hate. the caffeine crash is a steep slope down cushioned only by sana's lips on her forehead, and jihyo struggles to say thank you - just before surrendering to the fatigue waiting to swallow her whole.

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

"why is your room so tiny?" sana grumbles, rubbing her sore knee. "you're a post-grad, for fuck's sake. you deserve better."

 

jihyo laughs. hands her some ointment. the one her mother calls the 'all-cure.' the one that also smells like a rotting corpse, and laughs when sana avoids it like the plague. it's not any of their fault that there was literally only the width of an average sized human to walk through, and sana had ended up kicking the corner of the bed. ouch.

 

"i'm a broke post-grad student, sana. the school does not care." she shrugs. keeps the ointment back in her bedside drawer, while sana flits from corner to corner - there are only four in this room, but still. sana had once again barged in on jihyo because she was 'bored', and jihyo was more than happy to declare that she needed a break. from reading. 

 

besides, sana makes excellent company.

 

"who's this?" the other girl holds up a photo frame. the one from her bedside table. it's a photo of her and jeongyeon, smiling at the camera. something she finds herself looking at when the going gets a little too tough. to remind herself that once upon a time, she was that happy. 

 

then she realises she's looking at it for the first time in a long while. maybe in the last month, or so. practically forgot about it's existence. because she's actually happy, and her heart doesn't feel as heavy as it used to.

 

"... a good friend."

 

sana's eyes are still on her. searching, waiting, jihyo doesn't know. but then her face settles into something jihyo thinks is neutral, because it's totally unreadable. 

 

"okay, fine. we used to date." she ends up saying. "but that was a long time ago, and we're friends now." she looks away. finds sudden interest in her cuticles. she should've kept that photo a long time ago. should've kept it three years ago, instead of letting it haunt her. possibly jeopardise her new... whatever this was.

 

to punctuate her statement, she takes the photo frame from sana's hands. moves to dump it in the drawer, but sana catches her wrist -

 

"no. don't." sana shakes her head. "good memories should be remembered." then turns around to place it back on the bedside table, right where she took it. smiles the smile that glows an ember inside jihyo's soul.

 

and for the nth time that week, she wishes for time to hurry the hell up. 

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

reading week is always a disaster. three years in and you'd think she'd know any better, but nayeon thinks it's all about the full college experience. trying to study an entire semester's worth of notes in a week. right before finals. it's what makes college  _college_. 

 

at least she knows how to study smart (going for multiple consultations with each of her professors, that is). chaeyoung had repeatedly advised her to start studying a little earlier, but they both know it's never going to happen. because nayeon is too stubborn for her own good, and chaeyoung is too soft. besides, chaeyoung's way too good at putting her back together after her meltdown(s). 

 

"was that sana?" nayeon narrows her eyes at the person running off. bends to kiss chaeyoung's cheek as she sits down. "she's running awfully fast."

 

"i know." chaeyoung nods. "she's late for a consult with jihyo. the only person that could make her run." buries her face into nayeon's neck. "i missed you."

 

nayeon grins. wraps her arm around her girlfriend. stressed chaeyoung usually leads to whiny and needy chaeyoung, and if nayeon wasn't so stressed herself she'd be having a field day. because chaeyoung doesn't express herself well, and she's always trying to get chaeyoung to talk about her feelings. 

 

"me too," she mumbles into chaeyoung's hair. breathes in something she thinks vaguely reminds her of home. chaeyoung always smells like something earthy. nayeon think's it's a great metaphor, because chaeyoung keeps her grounded so she doesn't fly too close to the sun. 

 

"she's studying really hard for modern philo," chaeyoung continues. "i think she really wants to impress jihyo." 

 

nayeon laughs. "remember how you used to google up some lame drama titles just to talk to me?" pinches chaeyoung's cheek. "just because i said i liked watching dramas - "

 

"oh shut up!" chaeyoung whines. pouts, and nayeon can't think of anything else but to kiss it away. it's funny, how her insides still turn into mush every time chaeyoung pouts. or does anything, really. she thinks about fate. how lucky they are to have met each other through that stupid orientation camp, and how chaeyoung had asked her out through a poem she'd slipped under her door. 

 

then chaeyoung smiles into the kiss, and nayeon thinks she will never,  _never_ get tired of the way it has her feeling all tingly and warm. all the way to her toes. 

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

the number of times sana has breezed through a final can be counted on one hand. today's the third one, and as sana regurgitates whatever she's memorised from chaeyoung's notes ("you can't memorise my opinions, sana!") she eyes the looming clock at the centre of the exam hall. the minute hand moves.

 

five more minutes. she scans through her essay again. it wasn't going to get her an a, obviously - she just has to pass. get the modular credits, and never touch a philosophy module ever again. with a ten-foot pole. why would she want to learn about old people debating about things and ideologies that might not even be real?

 

but it's jihyo's passion, and sana will respect that. the idea that there is always something more to life than meets the eye is the only thing that resonates with her, after thirteen weeks of painfully dry readings. winter break has never been more enticing. especially now, when she can officially date jihyo - a whole new chapter sana is ready to jump headfirst into. 

 

then jihyo walks past her table, all prim and proper. handing out extra writing paper. and sana can't help but to look. she's wearing the same white blouse that glows because of her tan. she looks gorgeous, and sana is reminded of how they met - the memory is still a deep set cringe bomb sana wants to forget.

 

two more minutes. sana just wants to walk over and say hi. wants to take jihyo to dinner, and tell her endless stories about her own life. she picks up her pencil, and puts her master plan into words. scribbles  _will you go out with me?_ as neatly as possible at the bottom of her essay. closes her eyes and wills the minute hand to move a little faster. just one small millimeter to the right -

 

"time's up!" professor park bellows. "pens down." sana doesn't think her body can contain her own excitement for long. the invigilators start collecting the scripts, and she's in luck today because jihyo's in charge of her section. turns her script around, such that it's facing jihyo when she collects, and counts down the seconds it takes for jihyo to reach her.   

five, four, three, two, one -

 

she pushes the paper into jihyo's hands. watches as jihyo struggles to fight off the smile threatening to take over her face. and when jihyo gives the tinest nod, sana thinks she might actually implode. because her heart is bursting with joy and freedom and the promise of a great winter break with jihyo by her side - maybe lady luck has finally deemed her worthy. 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> @xylomyloo on twitter if u want to yell at me about anything


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